Developing Effective Teams

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Tutorial

This lesson is going to cover the type theory of personality by examining:

Type A and Type B Personalities

Criticism

1. Type A and Type B Personalities

Personality type theories try to put people into sort of
fixed categories that are based on aspects of personality that group together. This
particular theory of Type A and Type B personalities was first developed in the
1950s. Surprisingly, this theory was not developed by a psychologists but
rather two cardiologists, Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman.

Friedman and Rosenman were looking at what types of
people were at higher risk of developing heart disease and having heart
attacks. They came up with were two categories: those which are the types of people that were at high risk
of developing heart disease, and those who are at low risk.

Type A

Group of individuals who are driven, responsible, competitive, timely, ambitious, tough, and hostile if their goals are blocked; run a high risk developing cardiovascular disease.

Type B

Group of individuals who
are relaxed, resilient, adapt well to new situations, and do things at their
own speed; run a lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

Friedman and Rosenman identified the characteristic and
patterns of behavior for each type. Type A personality is:

Very competitive

Driven to try to achieve things they want to succeed in

Generally have a sense of urgency and impatience

Proactive, as opposed to being reactive

Tends to multitask and take on more tasks than they might be able to do

They are highly organized and efficient with time management

Research shows that oftentimes the driving force behind
these Type A personalities is a sort of anger or hostility, which isn't necessarily
directed at anyone or anything, but it helps to motivate them to achieve. However,
this sort of anger or hostility can also lead to hypertension and high blood
pressure, that can lead to an increased
risk of heart disease due to the stress that's being caused by this.

Type
A personalities were twice as likely to develop heart diseases and to have
heart attacks. A lot of Type A personalities need to learn strategies to
deal with stress to help out with these physiological issues.

2. Criticism

It's important to realize that the descriptions here of Type
A and Type B are extreme types of personalities. They're on the far end of the
spectrum. Ideally, a person could use a little bit of both: a drive to achieve, but
not be stressed out.

There is a lot of criticism about type theories like Type
A and Type B personality theory. One is that the categories tend to be overly
simplistic. It's trying to put people into one category or the other, when sometimes
the traits that are being talked about don't necessarily fit into either one of
them. Other variables could also have an effect on these sorts of things.

A person's diet might affect the way that they behave.

Another criticism is that these type personalities don't
necessarily distinguish between fixed sorts of personality and variable or
situational. A person could be a Type A personality in one situation and a Type
B personality in the other.

The type of job an individual has might influence them and
make them feel very stressed out in trying to achieve or get things
done. In general life, however, they might be a very relaxed person.

Two
cardiologists, Mayer Friedman and Ray Rosenman, developed the theory after looking at what personality traits lead people to be
at risk for heart disease. Type A personalities have a strong drive to achieve
coupled with anxiety, while Type B personalities tend to be more relaxed but
apathetic. Therefore, Type A personalities are more prone to heart Attacks, but for
this theory to say that it is too simplistic. However, there has been a lot of criticism about this theory as it does not take other factors that
can affect personality into account, and doesn’t address people who may be a
different type depending on a situation.

Good luck!

Source: This work is adapted from Sophia Author Erick Taggart

Terms to Know

Type A

Group of individuals who are driven, responsible, competitive, timely, ambitious, tough, and hostile if their goals are blocked; run a high risk developing cardiovascular disease.

Type B

Group of individuals who are relaxed, resilient, adapt well to new situations, and do things at their own speed; run a lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease.